Safeguard Mission
Overview
Safeguard Missions are missions that heroes may undertake in which there is a primary mission assigned with a short time limit and numerous secondary missions assigned that grant additional time and various bonuses. Secondary missions include preventing vandals from destroying objects within the zone, and side missions unlocked by defeating certain enemies. In addition, each Safeguard mission zone contains an exploration badge marker.
Safeguard Missions are obtained from detectives and are available after completing several Police Radio missions. Check the progress bar for the detective in the zone. If it is full red, you can talk to the Detective to get the Safeguard mission. If not, then do more radio missions in the zone.
Whether you complete or fail the Safeguard mission, you can complete more radio missions in order to re-obtain it (provided one doesn't exceed the maximum level before re-completing the number of prerequisite Police Radio mission).
Detailed Description
Mission Parameters
Safeguard missions are assigned based on the level of the character as follows:
| Instanced Map | Levels | Active Side Missions | Completion Temp Power | Patrolling Enemy Group | Vandal/Key Enemy Group | Contacts In |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas Park | 5 - 10 | 2 | Raptor Pack (Flight) | Hellions | Vahzilok | Kings Row |
| Kings Row | 10 - 15 | 2 | Zero-G Pack (Super Jump) | Clockwork | Skulls | Kings Row or Skyway City or Steel Canyon |
| Skyway City | 15 - 20 | 2 | Resuscitation (Self Resurrect) | Trolls | The Lost | Skyway City or Steel Canyon or Faultline |
| Steel Canyon | 20 - 25 | 3 | Summon Teammates (Group Recall) | Tsoo | Arachnos/The Family | Faultline or Talos Island or Independence Port |
| Independence Port | 25 - 30 | 3 | Movement Increase | Council | The Family | Talos Island or Independence Port |
| Talos Island | 30 - 35 | 4 | Endurance Increase | Arachnos | Tsoo | Brickstown or Founders' Falls |
| Brickstown | 35 - 40 | 4 | Health Increase | Council | Nemesis | Brickstown or Founders' Falls |
| Founders' Falls | 40 - 45 | 5 | Life Insurance | Crey | Council | Peregrine Island |
| Peregrine Island | 45 - 50 | 5 | Regeneration Increase | Malta Operatives | Carnival of Shadows | Peregrine Island |
Note that at levels divisible by 5 (10, 15, 20, etc.) it is possible to get either of two different missions for the ranges ending at or starting at the current level. Which of the two is offered will be random if you are visiting a detective in a zone that can offer both safeguard missions.
Conventional wisdom was that at levels 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 it was not possible to choose which safeguard mission you get, but as you can generally pick which zone to do your radio missions in this assumption is only absolutely true at levels 35 and 45 (where there is no choice of zone). It is partially true at level 10 where it is possible to ensure you get the Kings Row safeguard, but you will still have to rely on luck to get the Atlas Park safeguard, and at level 25 you can ensure you get the Steel Canyon safeguard but have to rely on luck (or wait a level) to get the Independence Port safeguard. Obviously if you wish to get the lower of the two then you may wish to turn off XP while doing the radio missions to avoid outleveling it. The following section explains your choices at each of these "overlap" levels.
Control Over Received Safeguard at Overlap Levels
The following table shows the possibilities for controlling which safeguard you get at the "overlap" levels, 10, 15, 20 etc.
| Level | Desired Safeguard | Zones Giving Certainty | Zones Giving A (Presumed Even) Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Atlas Park | Kings Row | |
| 10 | Kings Row | Skyway City or Steel Canyon | Kings Row |
| 15 | Kings Row | Kings Row | Skyway City or Steel Canyon |
| 15 | Skyway City | Faultline | Skyway City or Steel Canyon |
| 20 | Skyway City | Skyway City or Steel Canyon | Kings Row |
| 20 | Steel Canyon | Talos Island or Independence Port | Faultline |
| 25 | Steel Canyon | Faultline | Talos Island or Independence Port |
| 25 | Independence Port | Talos Island or Independence Port | |
| 30 | Independence Port | Talos Island or Independence Port | |
| 30 | Talos Island | Brickstown or Founders' Falls | |
| 35 | Talos Island | Brickstown or Founders' Falls | |
| 35 | Brickstown | Brickstown or Founders' Falls | |
| 40 | Brickstown | Brickstown or Founders' Falls | |
| 40 | Founders' Falls | Peregrine Island | |
| 45 | Founders' Falls | Peregrine Island | |
| 45 | Peregrine Island | Peregrine Island |
Secondary Missions
The following are secondary missions that may be completed within a Safeguard Mission:
| Mission | Bonus Time | Description | Time Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prevent Arson | 4:00 | Prevent a building from being set on fire. | 3:00 |
| Prevent Bombing | 8:00 | Work through the sewers into an office building to prevent it from being bombed. | 6:00 |
| Prevent Jailbreak | 8:00 | Prevent a villain from being broken out of jail. | ??? |
| Prevent Vault Break-In | 5:00 | Prevent villains from breaking into a local business. | ??? |
| Prevent Weapons Arms Deal | 6:00 | Raid a villain base where an arms deal is in progress, possibly acquiring the weapon for yourself. | ??? |
It is random which secondary missions are spawned for each Safeguard Mission. Low level Safeguard Missions generally only have one or two active secondary missions, while higher level Safeguard Missions have more.
Secondary missions are unlocked by defeating groups of enemies in the missions. These will be of a different enemy group from the primary group patrolling the streets of the mission. Defeating the entire group of one of these enemies will give a key that unlocks the secondary mission.
Additional Time
Additional time beyond that granted from completion of side missions can be earned by defeating the various packs of vandals that periodically appear in the area. When vandals appear, you will receive a warning "Vandals are causing mayhem" and a location on your mission map. If the hero travels to this location and eliminates the pack of vandals, which can contain as few as one enemy, they will gain 1:30. Vandals are of the same villain group as the secondary mission enemies which hold keys.
Temp powers
You can obtain Temporary Powers during or upon completion of Safeguard Missions. Refer to the table above for Temporary Powers associated associated with the completion of a Safeguard Mission. Additionally, you can also earn Temporary Powers by completing some Secondary Mission (such as the Arms Deal).
Also, there are temporary powers awarded from the arms deal side mission. These powers are awarded to the person who clicks the objective in the side mission, and are random which power is awarded. There are a wide variety of different powers available.
Farming
It is actually possible to reset the mission, and thus farm a Safeguard mission for badge credits. But some very specific things must be done to make it happen.
Safeguards start with a bank robbery that will start automatically even if the bank is left alone. But it is possible to stop the robbery, in progress, without defeating all villains in the bank. The key is the group of villains milling about the bank lobby. They are part of the bank robbery spawn, and must be defeated to complete the mission. But as long as they are not agroed, and the bank vault is not breached, they will never move from their initial spawn point. So the key to making this work is to quickly slip past the group in the lobby and get to the group at the vault. This group should now be defeated before they can breach the vault and activate the villains in the lobby.
One major hazard in this is that it is very easy to knock enemies back through the vault door. If this happens, barring the presence of TP Foe, there is no way to get at the enemy now beyond the vault, who will proceed to resume working on destroying the vault door. At this point all players should log out for several minutes to force a hard reset of the mission as soon as possible.
If the vault group is successfully defeated, the robbery is halted uncompleted, and the mission will never succeed or fail. Even better, the timer never starts, and the cycle of vandals never start. But the side missions can now be activated and completed, and when all desired side missions are done, the mission can be reset and the process can be repeated.
Safeguards suffer from a similar quirk that affects resetting Mayhem Missions. If the mission owner enters the map, completed side missions will not reset when the mission is reset. If the mission owner does not enter the map, then the side missions will reset with the mission resets.
Badges
Due to a glitch in the Paragon Nav System, Jose "Broken" Brogan stood here, but many heroes had trouble finding him.
The Clockwork Paladin, a menace to the city, was once spotted running around in this area.
The major highway that runs alongside this warehouse is frequently used by the "Dyne-addled" Supa-Trolls.
The Hellions attempted to burn Steel Canyon to the ground. This block is where one of the first fires was started.
Synapse has been seen speeding along the monorail tracks all throughout the city. Independence Port is one of his favorites.
Years ago, Rularuu tore down the barriers between our dimensions and sent one of many invasion forces to this block. Heroes from all over fought back the invaders.
The Freedom Phalanx and WISDOM stopped a massive Banished Pantheon attack in this area.
After a hostile takeover by the Council, this was one of the last places the few 5th Column troops were seen retreating.
The whimsical Gamester placed several presents all throughout Peregrine Island during the holidays. This block had a few of them.
You've left no stone unturned in your efforts to protect Paragon City's financial infrastructure. Your diligence is greatly appreciated by all.
You were right. It WAS the red wire first.
Paragon officials recognize your efforts in thwarting arsons, and have made you an honorary Fire Marshal.
You have kept several shipments of illegal weapons off of the streets.
Paragon Police officials have deputized you for rescuing several of their officers.
You have protected several local businesses in Paragon City, and the public loves you for it.
Heroes
It doesn't matter who or where, you will stop anyone who threatens your city.
Villains
Having a reputation for beating down villains has actually helped more than hurt you in the Rogue Isles.
You have proven yourself to being one of Paragon City's finest heroes by protecting all of the major banks in the city.